Australian government reaffirms policy on Golan Heights after foreign minister mentions ‘Israeli city’
LONDON: The Australian government has reiterated its stance that the Golan Heights is occupied territory, following recent comments by Foreign Minister Penny Wong describing the area as a “northern Israeli town,” The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
Wong's comments, made in a statement on social media platforms X and Instagram, sparked a wave of online reactions questioning whether she had recognized Israeli sovereignty over the region, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.
It follows a rocket attack on a football field in a town on the Golan Heights in which twelve children were killed.
The controversy was sparked by Wong's post, which began with the statement: “Australia strongly condemns the attack on the northern Israeli town of Majdal Shams.” Notably, the Golan Heights were not referred to as occupied territory in this statement.
This omission sparked concern among groups such as the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, which called the language used “alarming” and stressed that international recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights is limited and, under the Trump administration, is predominantly recognized only by Israel and the United States.
A spokesman for the Australian Foreign Ministry then clarified that there had been no change in Australian policy. “Our position that the Golan Heights are occupied by Israel, as determined by the UN Security Council,” the spokesman told Guardian Australia. “Our long-standing position is that the Golan Heights is an issue that Israel and Syria must resolve through negotiations as part of a comprehensive peace settlement.”
A government source said the intention behind Wong's statement was to underscore the dangers of escalation and condemn the attacks that have caused civilian casualties in Majdal Shams. The source added that the post “recognizes the fact that the town is administered and occupied by Israel.”
The issue received further attention following a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Majdal Shams, a predominantly Druze village, where he vowed a “tough” response to a recent rocket attack that killed 12 children. Netanyahu's visit sparked protests from some local residents. Israeli and U.S. authorities have attributed the attack to Hezbollah, although the Lebanese militant group has denied involvement.
The international community has long contested Israel's control over the Golan Heights. A November 1967 UN Security Council resolution declared “the inadmissibility of the conquest of territory by war” and demanded Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories. Furthermore, in 1981 the Security Council unanimously declared that “the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and has no international legal effect.”
In a notable departure from international consensus, former US President Donald Trump announced in 2019 that the US would recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, justifying the decision by saying it was essential to Israel's security and stability in the region.
The situation has led to calls for clarity on Australia's position. Australian Greens foreign affairs spokesperson Jordon Steele-John has called on Minister Wong to align her statement with the department's official policy, saying: “The community has a right to know why the minister's position appears to be at odds with that of her own department.”
This controversy follows Australia's decision last August to officially designate the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip as occupied Palestinian territories, thereby aligning with international law and the stance of several allies, including the United Kingdom.
